


Prince to King, Princess to Queen

by TheImpossibleDetectivesAngel



Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Aliens, Another lone survivor, Charlie and Matteusz being adorable, Family, Friendship, M/M, Multi, Powerful alien - Freeform, Quill does care, Scared Shadow Kin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-10-19 06:37:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10634328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheImpossibleDetectivesAngel/pseuds/TheImpossibleDetectivesAngel
Summary: A new student arrives late to Miss Quills' lesson. There is something about her that makes the 'Bunghole defense squad' curious. They soon find out that they are in way deeper than they wanted to be.ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. SORRY GUYS.





	1. Late is late, but not with her

**Author's Note:**

> Random thought that I decided to write down. Please let me know what you think by reviewing or leaving Kudos. Thank you.

Just as Quill started to speak, the door squeaked open. Tanya did not envy that student. The entire class looked up, holding their breath to see what would happen. The girl was new: no one had seen her before. Her hair was in a fishtail plait swung around her shoulder, and she wore a grey cardigan with a white shirt and skirt. Her heeled lace ups tapped as she walked towards Miss Quill, her head bowed. 

She spoke quietly, and handed Quill a piece of paper, before sitting at the empty desk next to Charlie's. The students all watched tense, but Quill just glanced at the paper, then launched into an explanation of the topic. The students were startled, but complied, beginning their notes. Charlie, Ram, April, Tanya and Matteusz all looked over at the girl, who had already begun writing, her plait resting on her left shoulder. 

Suddenly, she looked up, and they all jumped slightly. Her sky blue eyes were full of pain and misery, and the small smile on her lips was clearly forced. They all looked back to their work, and left her alone. 

When the bell rang, the girl was up and out of her seat almost immediately. She turned as she basically ran past Charlie and Ram, her backpack swinging, and her heels making a very loud tapping noise. "What's her problem?" Ram asked to no one in particular. "I wonder." Miss Quill responded, giving Charlie a pointed look. "The Prince will understand." And with that statement, she shoved them out the classroom. "Well," Tanya turned to the rest of them. "That was a fun lesson."


	2. A girl and a beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet the new girl.

Over the next three days, the 'Bunghole defense squad' became increasingly curious about the new girl. She always wore her hair in a plait, and her clothing was always the same, just different colours. Also, she was always quiet, never speaking to anyone. Until one night.

The group had managed to find another alien: of course, it was hostile. The thing looked like a large dog, with wings and a long tail with a poisonous tip. So, of course, they all ended up running until they got cornered in the main hall.

The creature gave a viscous snarl, and advanced, it's curved mouth stretching into some form of deformed grin. They all clung to one another, Quill in front with her arms out in a last effort to protect them all. They had no doubt that they were going to die. 

Then, it wasn't there. They looked to see the creature slowly get up again, and give a mewl. Then, they looked to the left. The new girl stood, panting, with a malicious smile on her face. Her blonde hair was down, and she had a cut across her cheek. She favoured her left leg, but still stared at the creature before them. "Leave them." Her voice was powerful, commanding, and the beast growled before lunging again. 

She threw her arms out and pushed it away, using an incredible amount of force. It snarled at her, but she just smiled. "Come get me, bitch." The creature leapt at her, with a mighty roar, and was quickly thrown against the wall. The girl advanced, and, quite brutally, thrust a broken chair leg through the beast's neck. It howled, then it's head lolled to the side. 

The group looked to her in amazement, but the girl had turned to face the door. "Get back!" She yelled at them, wielding the broken chair leg. Another creature burst through the doors, this one slightly smaller. It growled and limped forward, wary. The girl started forward, and it moved back, whimpering. "Go!" she shouted at it. "Crawl back to where you came from, mutt!" The beast whimpered and backed up, a tear opening behind it.

She stepped forward, thrusting the chair leg out. "Leave!" With a final snarl, it left, and the tear closed behind it. The dead bodies of the other one disappeared, and the girl turned to them. "So," she started, looking at their bewildered expressions. "I'm Charlene. Nice to meet you." They just stared.


	3. Once upon a time, there was a princess...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet Charlene. And there's more to her than meets the eye.

"Yeah, that's just getting creepy now." They broke out of their trance, and Charlene smiled. "Better." Quill marched over to her, but before she could touch, Charlene reached out and caught her wrist. "Please don't. I do not like being touched by people or aliens that I don't know." She released Quills' wrist and stepped away.

"Who are you?" Ram asked, moving forward. She looked at him, and tilted her head. "Charlene. I am a princess." Ram chuckled. "Honestly." Ram stopped, noting the serious expression on Charlene's face. "I am the last of my kind."   
"Brilliant, another one." Ram muttered. That earned him an elbow in the stomach from April.

"That is why you said her and Charlie are similar?" Matteusz asked Miss Quill. She sighed, rubbing her wrist. "Yes."   
"I am here because the Shadow Kin destroyed my people, just as they did yours." She nodded to Charlie and Quill. "And the Doctor saved me. But I didn't want to be saved." She turned and walked towards the door. "But you obviously did. So, you're welcome." She walked, well, limped, to the doors, then turned to the group, sending a small, genuine smile to Charlie. "Be more careful next time. I don't like being the hero, it draws to much attention to me." With that, she was gone.

Tanya looked at the rest of them. "Well, now we know why the new girl is always so quiet." Ram rolled his eyes, and Quill just turned to the doors.   
"Of course that's what you would take from that, Tanya." April sighed. Charlie turned into Matteusz, burying his head in his chest. "Another one." He whispered. "Another one like me."


	4. Even a royal needs friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 'squad' decide that Charlene needs to make friends. With them preferably.

Charlie approached catiously. Charlene sat with her back to him, slowly eating a pack of crisps. He walked a bit further, standing behind her right shoulder. "Hello." She turned her head slightly, then patted the seat next to her. Charlie took the invitation and sat next to her, looking out to the other students. "What do you want?" Charlie looked at Charlene, startled by her sudden speech. He recovered quickly, and smiled when she turned to face him. 

"To be your friend." he replied simply. She snorted, and took a bite out of another crisp. "Usually, when I have friends, they get killed." she looked at him with a deep sadness. "I had a friend on my home planet. He was the first to die. I had friends when I got here, to Earth. And they got killed too. I am unwilling to risk anyonelse's safety for the sake of having friends." Charlie gave her a look of shared suffering. "I know how that feels. But I have them." He gestured to Ram, Matteusz, April and Tanya, who were watching them from a distance. "And I feel better for it." Charlene smiled at him, and looked to the group. "I'm sure you do." she replied. "But being around me would kill them. And you." She rose to leave, but Charlie reached out and caught her wrist. "Please. Stay with us. We understand." He begged.

She gently removed his hand, but moved in front of him. "Won't you introduce me?" Charlie smiled and stood, and Charlene followed him. As they got closer, the group shifted, and Charlie went to stand with Matteusz. "This is Matteusz. My boyfriend." Charlene reached out a hand to Matteusz, who shook and then kissed it. That prompted a small chuckle out of Charlene, who curtseyed back. "April. MacLean." Charlene reached a hand to her, then to Tanya and Ram, who introduced themselves in turn. "Friends?" she asked, turning to Charlie. He nodded and smiled at her. "Friends." April moved to stand next to Charlene, who turned her attention to the brunette. "This means you're coming to the Winter Wonderland dance though." Charlene smiled.  
"Of course. Can I bring a date from outside of school. She's only eighteen." Ram rolled his eyes. "Of course. A gay alien prince and a gay alien princess. Makes PERFECT sense." Tanya elbowed him, but Charlene just smiled. "Yes, it works rather well, doesn't it?" 

Matteusz stood off to the side with Charlie, watching the exchange. "Nicely done Charlie." He whispered to his boyfriend. Charlie beamed up at him, then went back to watching Charlene interact with the rest of the group. "At least she's not alone now." he whispered.


	5. See you at the dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Safe to say, Charlene's girlfriend is not what they expected her to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know guys, I am a terrible person, you hate me for not updating sooner. I'm sorry, truly, but I've had a very bad week. On Monday to Wednesday, I had exams, and therefore quick revision. Then my mum lost one of her closest friends to cancer and has been on an emotional rollercoaster. Then my socially inept friends wanted to go to Em-con yesterday and I had to organise EVERYTHING!!! Then another friend had several panic attacks because of her anxiety, and I got next to no sleep. Plus, Virgin Media won't let my on AO3, and my mum can't fix it, 'cause, you know... so I've had to use my data, which I've only got so much of....  
> So I'm sorry, but here it is*, and if you read all this then, sorry for being all sad, but I need to get it out. Thank you for all the support guys!   
> *Also, just to clarify, the story is set after episode 5, and will carry on the plot of the series, just with Charlene and her girlfriend included.

As a result of Prom, when April told the group she was staying behind to decorate for the Winter Wonderland dance, they all insisted they stay with her. She had told them to go, but the refused. So, here she sat writing a banner, with Matteusz and Tanya making paper snowflakes, Charlie and Ram dusting everything with fake snow and Miss Quill sticking up her banners from Prom and putting white paper on the tables. The hall was silent apart from the sound of April's pens, paper crunching, and the tap tap of Miss Quill's heels on the floor. When the door creaked open they all jumped in surprise, but it was just Charlene. Instead of her usual skirt and cardigan combo, she donned her normal black heels, with ripped jeans, an oversized t-shirt and woollen cardigan. Her hair was out of its usual plait and up in a ponytail, showing off how defined and regal her face really was. "Sorry." she apologised. April waved it away and smiled at their new friend. "I didn't think you'd stayed." Charlene shook her head.  
"I didn't. But I bought my girlfriend for you all to meet." That got all the others to stop what they were doing, apart from Miss Quill.   
"Great!" April enthused, standing up and dusting off her jeans. Ram came to stand by her, and the rest of the group naturally gravitated towards them. Charlene nodded at the door, and it swung open again.

Blue. That was what stood out. The girl who walked through the door had blue hair. Ice blue hair. It was long, almost to her stomach. It fell over a white hoodie covered in grey snowflakes. A black shirt peaked out from underneath, and a grey t-shirt underneath that. Her pale denim jeans were ripped at both knees and the high thigh, and she wore grey trainer heels. Both wrists had tattoos on, as did the left side of her neck, and her ears were covered in piercings. She had a small one at her eyebrow, and two rings and a stud in her nose. "Woah." Ram, of course, was the first one to speak. The eyebrow with the piercing was the one to raise. She came to stand by Charlene's side, and held out her right hand to them. "Jordan." Matteusz reached out first, and one after the other, they shook hands with her and introduced themselves.

When Matteusz said his name, she smiled at him. "Polish, yes?" He nodded. "Cześć." Matteusz looked startled, then replied.  
"Mówisz po polsku?"  
"Tak. Moja mama jest Polakiem i dorastałem." The others stood and watched them converse in Polish. Even Miss Quill looked mildly impressed. Ram turned to Charlene.  
"She's Polish?" Charlene smiled.  
"Half Polish. Her mother is, but her father's English. She grew up in Poland." Jordan and Matteusz turned back to them and Jordan took up the story. "My family moved here two years ago. About six months ago, my father finally decided that he didn't like having a lesbian for a daughter, and kicked me out."  
"What about all....this?" Tanya gestured to her hair and piercings. Jordan chuckled, but answered.   
"My father's always been a bit of a dick. When I was twelve, I decided I was firmly a lesbian. Funnily enough, my very Christian mother was happy for me. My atheist father on the other hand, not so much. He wouldn't speak to me for a month, and after that, he treated me like shit. So, I did all the things he didn't like. I dyed my hair, I got multiple ear and nose piercings, along with an eyebrow piercing and a belly button piercing. I got tattoo's, and stopped wearing long skirts all the time. I also stopped speaking Polish for a while which is why I have an almost perfect English accent." Jordan smiled at the end of it, and her hand joined with Charlene's.   
"It is nice to meet you all." She looked over at Matteusz. "Especially you, Matteusz." He took her hand and kissed it with a smile.  
"Żegnaj Jordan. To było świetnie spotkać ciebie." Jordan smiled at him, and leant in to kiss his cheek.   
"Tak samo ty Matteusz. Do zobaczenia podczas tańca." she replied, then looked at Charlene. "Home?" Charlene nodded and they turned towards the door. "See you at the dance." Jordan called over her shoulder. They all smiled.

Matteusz went back to making paper stars. "I like her." he stated. They all chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations(from Google translate, sorry if they're wrong):  
> Cześć = Hi  
> Mówisz po polsku? = You speak Polish?  
>  Tak. Moja mama jest Polakiem i dorastałem. = Yes I do. My mother is Polish and I grew up there.  
> Żegnaj Jordan. To było świetnie spotkać ciebie. = Goodbye Jordan. It was great to meet you.  
> Tak samo ty Matteusz. Do zobaczenia podczas tańca. = Same to you Matteusz. See you at the dance.


	6. The Winter Wonderland Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winter Wonderland dance is underway - hopefully no aliens will invade this time.
> 
> Pure fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, again, everything I said in the notes last time. Plus work experience at a nursery and my uncle committing suicide. And going to a Supernatural convention. I'm sorry, guys, bit please bear with me. Thanks for your patience.
> 
> This is basically just fluff.

The hall looked amazing. Paper snowflakes and fake snow were everywhere, with blue and white fairy lights hanging all over the place. It all looked very wintery, and April was very impressed with her work. Her pale pink dress shimmered in the lights, and stood out next to Ram's dark suit and Tanya's grey chiffon dress. Charlie and Matteusz stood nearby, chatting quietly with each other. Miss Quill stood scowling by the buffet table, her dark blue dress swirling around her like an upcoming tsunami. 

The hall was full of students and teachers, all dressed up in pale pinks and lilacs, dark and bright blue's, grey's and some white. It was a brilliant turn out, and April was smiling enthusiastically. She turned to Charlie and Matteusz, who'd joined the group. "When are Charlene and Jordan coming?" Charlie checked his phone and looked back at her. "About two minutes." April smiled and grabbed Ram's hand. "Dance with me." He smiled indulgently at her and let her drag him to the dance floor.

Charlie nudged Matteusz and Tanya as the hall doors swung open again. Jordan entered, her tall white heels clicking with every step. Her startling hair hung in a simple, elegant ponytail, and her white dress emphasized her figure. The lace at the top showed off her shoulders and arms, along with the tattoos on them. Matteusz whistled and Jordan winked at him, smiling brightly. She looked back over her shoulder and Charlene emerged. Her dress was simple; a long shimmering ball gown, a very pale blue that shone silver in the right light. Her heeled sandals were a shiny silver, and her long blonde hair was pinned up in a simple style, most of it falling down the back of her neck in her natural curls. She took Jordan's offered hand and walked towards the group. April came bounding over, and hugged both girls happily. 

"Every inch the princess." Ram remarked as he joined them. Charlene smiled at him, then at Jordan. "What am I then?" Jordan questioned. "Why, the princess consort of course!" Ram told her. She chuckled and patted his arm. "I like that title." She looked at the rest of them. "Anyone for a dance?" she held out her hand to Charlene, who took it with a flourish. Charlie and Matteusz followed, gazing lovingly at each other. Ram and April took one of Tanya's hands each and pulled her along. She protested jokingly, but let them do it. The group all ended up smiling and dancing happily, twirling and spinning. Miss Quill looked on fondly, making sure none of them noticed. She just hoped this happiness would last for them.

Unfortunately, that was not to be the case.


	7. Detained; Remastered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically episode 6 rewritten with Charlene in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Episode 6 with Charlene put in. All lines from the episode are not mine, and neither is the plot. Some twists, because of Charlene. Not all lines will be included because copyright. Sorry I've been away, but I've been going to conventions and school and my uncle committed suicide and one of my best friends is being a massive bitch and is saying that me and my mum are homophobic. Sorry again. Thank you for being patient. Also, change to the ending.

"All of us?" The door slammed shut behind Charlie, causing him to turn and desperately hit it. "Quill! Hey!" He looked at her eyes through the window in the door. "Hey, Quill! What are you doing?" Charlie herd the tell tail sound of a lock. He immediately panicked, and tugged at the handle. "You've all got an hour detention, and I have things to do. April and Charlene are in charge, obviously." Charlie put a palm on the door and looked at her pleadingly. "You're sworn to protect me." Quill smirked and Charlene sighed from the back of the classroom. "And that's why I'm locking you in, Prince. It's so you won't come to any harm." She waved and walked off. "But why? Where are you going? Hey!" Charlie turned around and looked at his friends in panic. 

"She, she can't do this. I, I can't be trapped inside something. It's, er.." April walked towards him, putting a reassuring hand on Charlie's arm. "I think she was just trying to be annoying." April smiled and held up another key. As she unlocked the door, Charlene walked towards them. "I didn't know you were claustrophobic." She smiled sweetly at him and patted his arm. "I get that way too." As the group started to rise to go towards their friends, a huge crash stopped them. They all covered their heads, falling over from the impact. After a couple of seconds, the group got up, Charlie and Charlene clinging tightly onto each other's arms. "What was that?" Tanya's voice echoed. Matteusz stood up, clutching a desk for help. "An earthquake?"  
"In London?!" Ram exclaimed. Charlene huffed and rolled her eyes at him. April distracted them.  
"Guys, what's up with the windows?" They turned to look. There was just...nothingness. Charlie caused them all to turn again.  
"What's up with the door?" Charlene came to stand by his right side, and the other's crowded around to look out at the same nothingness that was visible through the windows. Charlene grabbed Charlie's hand and he squeezed fearfully. "Is detention always like this?"  
April turned and looked at the empty class room. "Oh, my God, what just happened?!" Tanya followed her, muttering to herself.  
"This is bad. This is really, really, really bad."  
"What caused the explosion?" Matteusz spoke, but his question went unheard. April and Charlene were both stood next to Charlie, who was still holding Charlene's hand. The two had become fast friends, and they were very close, like a brother and sister. "Really bad." Tanya muttered from the other side of the room.

"Yo, she tried to kill us!" Ram's shout drew everyone's attention. April grasped what he meant. "Quill?" Charlie's grip tightened, and Charlene nudged him in comfort. "I'm feeling weirdly pissed off about that."  
"Weirdly?" April sniped, sharing a look of annoyance with Ram. Charlie stepped into the conversation.  
"She can't. She has to protect me. Any aggressive move and she'll die herself." Charlene rubbed her thumb into Charlie's hand and Matteusz came forward to comfort his boyfriend. They all joined in, rattling on about how Miss Quill could've done this. Charlene let go of Charlie's hand and walked towards the other side of the classroom, where she caught sight of something. "Hello, mysterious space rock." She examined it as the rest of them continued to talk, going on to trying to contact people. It was only at Ram's comment of "Who would you call anyway?" that she turned around. Seeing the hurt look on Charlie's face, she was about to intercede when the Prince remarked "I've got...friends."  
"What, besides us?" She saw April go to speak but came to stand inches away from Ram's face. She was there so fast that the group didn't realise how fast she'd gone. "Speak like that to him again, and I will tear you limb from limb and eat your heart and not give a damn. Okay?" Her lips were pulled back like a feral animals, and her eyes were bright. Ram shrunk back from her, and the rest of them just stared. Then Charlene was back over at the wall as fast as she'd got to Ram. Tanya was the first to shake the shock off and start thinking. "Was there the sound of the tear opening when you opened the door?" April shrugged and Charlie looked unsure.

"Maybe, I was a bit more worried about being trapped in a room." he stated. Tanya nodded and thought for a moment.  
"Could something have pulled us through?"  
"More like knocked." Came Charlene's voice. They made their way over, Ram keeping his distance from her. She gestured to a piece of what looked like rock that was stuck in the wall. "Interesting." Tanya stated, giving Charlene a small smile.  
"Or deadly." Ram piped up. The other's looked at him with nervousness or disbelief. "Yeah, 'cos nothing's tried to kill us lately." He scowled and rolled his eyes. Tanya looked back at the rock, then turned to Charlene. "It looks like-" she began, only to be cut off by Matteusz.  
"A rock."  
"A deadly rock." Ram put in.  
"Like an asteroid or something, was what I was gonna say!" Tanya sniped. Charlene smiled and nodded. Charlie came closer, leaning over Charlene to get a better look. "The tears go through all of space and time, so maybe something hit one of the tears as it opened and knocked us away. " he suggested. Charlene nodded her agreement with that too. "If we got hit by a meteor." Ram added.  
"Asteroid." Tanya corrected.  
"When it enters the atmosphere it becomes a meteor." Ram fired back.  
"You're learning." Tanya replied with sarcasm lacing her voice.  
"I didn't get into A-levels by accident." Ram sneered at her.  
"Then why all the extra help?" Tanya replied with a scowl on her face.  
"Would you get off my back? You're just like my dad!"  
"What?" Tanya stomped towards him, with April by her side.  
"Don't talk to her like that." April yelled at Ram.  
"What are you getting pissed of for?" Ram yelled back. "I don't know!" April yelled again, then looked taken aback. "I don't." She whispered, then turned to look at the others. "Is it hot in here?" Charlie, who had stood stock still and wide eyed throughout all the fighting was now looking at the glowing rock stuck in the corner. "Er, I think you may be right about the radiation." They all turned to see what he was looking at.  
  
"Anyone know the symptoms of radiation poisoning?" Tanya asked, back towards Charlene and Matteusz.  
"Agony, followed by death." Ram put in, also backing away.  
"He's right!" Matteusz said, grabbing Charlie's hand. The prince had began hyperventilating again, feeling the room closing in on him."I, er, I need to get out of here, please." He turned towards the door, but Matteusz, Tanya and Charlene grabbed him, stopping him and hauling him backwards. April came over and put her hands on Charlie's arms, trying to stop him panicking. "To where? We're hanging in the middle of nowhere, Charlie. It's not even space." Tanya started another conversation, but Charlene didn't listen, instead, she went over and occupied April's space in front of Charlie. "You'll be okay, Charlie. I promise." Charlie just nodded mutely, reaching out to her for a hug. She complied, giving him the type of hug a big sister would give their younger sibling to comfort them. She pulled back just in time to see Matteusz pick up the stone. "No, Matteusz!" She yelled just as the other's shouted the same and backed away. Suddenly, the Polish boy stopped, and his eyes glazed over. "I'm in Poland. I'm in Poland."  
"Is this what Poland looks like?!" Charlene ignored Ram's stupid comment and walked forwards carefully, trying to reach Matteusz. Charlie was doing exactly the same, moving cautiously. "I'm with my father, visiting my babcia. It's her birthday. This is last year. This is only last year. She takes me aside and she says, tell me the truth, Matti. Tell me the truth." Charlie moved further forwards then, reaching out to Matteusz. "Put it down." He told the other boy. "Put it down, put it down." Matteusz backs up, prompting Charlie to raise his voice. "Put it down!"  
"I'm afraid of you." The sudden statement causes Charlie to freeze where he is. "What?" he almost whispers, looking completely bewildered. "It's the truth." Matteusz stares tearfully at the prince. "I love you. I think of you all the time. My heart sometimes breaks just for the thinking of you, but, I'm also afraid of you." There are tears in Charlie's eyes, and Charlene desperately wants to pull him into another hug. "Afraid of me?" His voice shakes, and April, also seeing the unshed tears, decides to step in. "Matteusz." The boy appears not to hear her, continuing with his statements.  
"You're human. You look human. You're human all over. But inside, you're not human at all. And I'm afraid of who you are, of what you're capable of. Of what you will do." Charlene grabs the textbook April hands her, and with a vicious shout, knocks the rock out of Matteusz's grasp. He looks disorientated for a second, before it all comes flooding back, and he stumbles towards Charlie. Tanya and Ram started talking, and April and Matteusz did too, but Charlie just fled to the back of the classroom. Charlene followed, not entirely sure if she was welcome. But Charlie's answering sad smile and reaching hand told her she was. She gave him another hug that he just leaned into, burying his face in the crook of her neck. She stroked his hair, listening as he tried to calm his breathing. "You remind me of my little brother." She felt him pull back and looked at his sad eyes. "Tell me?" He asked.  
  
She nodded, checking that the other's were still occupied. She saw Matteusz looking over at them longingly, but he made no move to approach. She shook her head, indicating that he should stay where he was. Charlene turned her attention back to Charlie. "My little brother was about seven years younger than me. Of course, being the first child, all hopes were pinned on me. After he was born, my parents completely ignored him. I practically raised him, nurtured and cared for him. Before the Shadow Kin attack, a massive fire broke out, and he was trapped. I heard his screams and rushed to rescue him. When I got there, I was just in time to see a Shadow Kin appear behind him and slaughter him. The last thing he screamed was my name." Charlene shook her head, willing the tears away. Charlie patted her back, trying to offer some comfort.  
"What was his name?" Charlene smiled.  
"Cashel. I loved him like he was my own child. In some ways, he was." She looked down at Charlie. "Somehow, you are exactly as I imagined an older version of him. Sweet, intelligent, kind." She looked up to see Matteusz approaching them. "I will leave you to have a conversation." She released him from the hug and patted Matteusz on the arm as she went past. He sent a small, heartbroken smile her way in return. Leaving the two boys, she made her way over to where the other's were bickering. She perched on a desk and watched them until she felt Charlie come and stand by her. A sudden commotion startled them, and they looked over at April and Ram, who were arguing again. April's voice rang out. "Wow! Why are you being such a dick?"  
  
Charlene made her way over. "Hey! Guys! Chill. Stop shouting and calm the hell down." She glared at each of them, and Ram's face softened.  
"I really don't know. I really don't. Besides the being-trapped thing, I just feel weirdly angry." He sat next to April and lightly touched her shoulder, trying to apologise. Tanya nodded and headed over to the rock. "Me too. Let's have a look at that meteor." She gingerly picked it up with two sticks and dropped it on one of the desks. "Okay, let's think this through. Stones don't make you tell the truth."  
"I didn't do that on purpose!" Matteusz protested, coming to stand close to Tanya. They all started theorising, trying to figure out what it was. Charlene sat back, watching them all, not participating. However, when Tanya grabbed the meteorite, she lurched forward, ready to do what she did with Matteusz. "What are you doing?" April shouted. Tanya held up a hand, and clutched her head. "Wait, I'm being yelled at. My mum." The group looked completely scared shitless, watching Tanya as if she was going to turn round and attack them. Only Matteusz stepped forward, holding up a placating hand. "Like me, like memory, but you're there." Tanya nodded slightly, clutching the rock tighter.  
"I was little and, I stole some sweets from the off-licence. I tried to pretend I didn't know it was wrong, but my mum sat me down and said, tell me the truth. Tell me the truth." Matteusz inched closer, a scared smile on his face. "And you did. You did." Tanya looked at him and backed away, accusation in her eyes. "You guys aren't really my friends." Shock was the next emotion that passed through the group. "You only tolerate me. You look at me like a little sister or a baby." She looked back at them all with wide eyes, full of sadness and anger. Ram stepped forward, desperate to help his friend.  
"No, we don't."  
"That's how it feels." Tanya backed away again. "It's the truth. I'm telling you the truth." April tried to approach her next.  
"Put down the rock and I'll tell you what the real truth is." She reached out to take Tanya's hands, but the younger girl's sudden yell of "No!" startled her and she fell backwards. Matteusz caught her around the waist and hoisted her up, clutching her close. "Not yet." Tanya continued. "I'm doing this for a reason, ask me a question. Somebody ask me something!"  
"About what?" responded Charlie, who had looked on in fear and surprise this entire time.  
"About the rock, alien boy! God, you keep saying how you're this prince but all you do is stand around and ask stupid questions and get obvious things wrong." Tanya yelled at him. Charlie froze where he was, a look of pure, unmasked hurt on his face. Before anyone could respond, April jumped in with a question. "Is the rock dangerous?" Tanya's eyes widened, and she looked down at it. "Yes! Yes, it's dangerous! If you hold it too long, it fries your brain. Our chemistry can't handle it." A panicked look crossed Ram's face. "Then let it go!"  
"Not yet!! Ask me again. Make me tell you the truth." Tanya yelled back.  
Charlene watched with panicked eyes as the group kept talking, and looked around. She spied a metal bar, and picked it up, starting slowly towards Tanya. Suddenly, she bought it down and the stone flew out of Tanya's hands into a light fitting. "There's something in here with us!" Tanya shouted. She grabbed April's hand, and ran to the back of the room. The others followed, overturning chairs and tables as a protective barricade.  
  
The lights flickered back on, and they all started to talk quickly. Charlie just huddled in the corner, numb with shock. Ram crawling from his space between April and Tanya broke Charlie's trance. "If he's here, don't you think we should find him, before he finds us?" Charlene nodded at that and followed Ram and the others. "Are you okay?" Charlie turned his head at Matteusz's soft voice. He felt so small and helpless. "Why wouldn't I be? I'm trapped in a confined space which is making my heart beat twice as fast as normal, you're afraid of me and everyone thinks I act like a prince asking stupid questions." Matteusz hastened to reassure him. "They don't. That was Tanya." He added "Being angry." Charlie didn't look convinced. "It was the truth." Matteusz shook his head. "So...okay. Okay. Back when I'm learning English, I would read in your language, and my religious mother, she hears about this book about this place called Narnia." Charlie looked confused. "Narnia, is that, er, Canada?" The others stood a little away from the two of them, discussing how they were going to get out of this, when Charlene heard Charlie say "It's okay, I won't be a Susan." She watched him get up and come and stand by her side. Matteusz followed, standing by Tanya, with infinite sadness in her eyes. That's when Tanya suggested picking up the rock.  
  
  
  
********SKIPPED SO I DON'T BREACH COPYRIGHT AND SO THAT THE CHAPTER ISN'T TREMENDOUSLY LONG AND BORING********  
  
  
  
It had all descended into chaos in between the confessions, with angry words and harsh shoves being traded freely. Charlene and Charlie kept breaking in, but between Charlie's panic attack and the collective anger of the group, the peace never lasted long. Finally, they all confessed, when yet another fight broke out. Charlie interceded again, looking on the verge of tears. "Just stop it! Stop it! Is this who we are now? Just endless angry truths, the worst things we think about each other. He's got into our heads enough to start us fighting, and this room is obviously only going to make us angrier and angrier." They all looked at him with surprise, stepping away from each other. "That's not a bad explanation." Tanya said. "I know!" Charlie yelled. They all flinched, even Charlene. Charlie turned away from them and sucked in a trembling breath."You think, you think you know me." He looked at them, the tears slowly falling. "You think I'm this pampered prince." He looked at Tanya, who started to say something but was stopped by a sharp glance from Charlene. "You want confessions? I'll give you confessions. I want to murder the Shadow Kin. Every last one. I want to use the Cabinet of Souls to wipe them from the face of existence." Matteusz moved to him.  
"But Charlie-"  
"I would lose you." Charlie looked up at him, love and sadness mixed together in a heart-breaking combination. "I'd lose myself. I would lose all hope of anything good ever again. But I want to do it! I think of every day, and the only thing that stops me is you, and sometimes, sometimes I hate you for it. And that's who I am." Charlie turned back to face all of them. "You think you know me, but you don't." He lifted his head up. "You want to know who'd the last one standing out of the five of us?" He scoffed. "I would." That simple statement sent chills down their spines. He turned away again, but this time, it was to pick up the rock. "Charlie, what are you doing? Wait!" Matteusz yelled. But a mere second before Charlie touched the rock he was shoved away by a pair of strong arms. He nearly fell, but Matteusz caught him. They looked on, startled, as Charlene picked up the rock. She winced as the voice began to rumble "Confess!" She gritted her teeth and stooped, then, suddenly, straightened up. "I'm, I'm home." She sounded joyous, happy. "Cashel." His name was a sigh. "Who?" Ram asked.  
"Her little brother." Charlie whispered. They all silenced.  
  
  
  
"We're playing, in the light of our three suns. It's warm out, a nice day. He's laughing, we're playing chase. I catch him, swing him around, and we fall, landing on the grass laughing. 'Charli' he says, 'tell me the truth. Do mother and father even care about me?'" A tear trickles down her cheek. "He says it again. 'Tell me the truth.'" She looks up at them. "My friends deaths, they were my fault. The Shadow Kin, they came for me. Said I was 'valuable' to them." She scoffed. "As if they even know what that means." The tears kept falling. "My friends, they tried to protect me. Reyna, Andi and Tami, and Jordan, they stood up to them. Defended me." She sobbed. "And they died for it. Jordan barely escaped, a scratch down her arm, and her right leg was nearly severed. And it was MY fault."  
"No, it wasn't." Charlene looked up. Charlie stood in front of her, looking at her with wide eyes. "It wasn't."  
"Look." Ram pointed to the door. The blackness was fading. A sudden rumble shook the room, and they all ducked to the floor, Charlie dragging Charlene with him. They all clutched each other, and suddenly, it stopped. But the blackness remained, just a hint of light in the distance. The next movement was Charlene flinging the stone viscously across the room. But Charlie grabbed it determinedly. "He needs to die, we need to get back completely!"  
"No!" Charlene and Matteusz yelled together. "Come on!" Charlie growled, not listening."Come and get me. Force the truth out of me. You think you can handle the guilt of the Prince of Rhodia?" The voice started again, and what was left of the windows shattered. Charlie's friends begged and pleaded with him, but he wouldn't let go of the stone. He kept going, even as the blood started dribbling from his nose and eyes. Suddenly, it stopped. Charlie collapsed to his knees, and Matteusz crawled towards him. "I..." He started. Matteusz nodded, encouraging him. "I love you. It's the truth. It's also true that I'll lose you." Matteusz shook his head and reached towards Charlie, but then the rumbling started again. "YOU."  
"Yes?" Charlie got out.  
"ARE."  
"I am what?" Charlie asked.  
"MY MURDERER!" Charlie looked stricken, but nodded.  
"Yes. Yes I am." Again, the group yelled at him, but he paid no attention. He stood, clutching the rock, as it cracked and split. Slowly, the school hallway came back into view, and Charlie dropped the rock, collapsing to the floor. As the room stabilised and sunlight burst through the windows, the group all sat up. Matteusz went to help Charlie up, setting him on his feet. "He was looking for death. He wanted someone guiltier than him to end his suffering."  
"And it was you." Charlene stated. Charlie nodded mutely.  
"Yes. Because I am not innocent. Not in my heart. For Rhodia, a wish is the same as an action." Charlie looked down.  
"That's...messed up." Tanya mumbled quietly. "I am." Charlie responded. He looked over at Matteusz. "I think we have some things to talk about." Matteusz nodded. "Yes, we do."  
  
  
  
"Can we go now? Cos I'm outta here!" Ram started forward but Charlene grabbed him and hauled him back as the rock burst open. "What the..." April started.  
"Oh no!" Charlie said. "What? What!" Tanya yelled. "I, er, think I may have done something stupid." He remarked, walking backwards. "Charlie?" Matteusz prompted. His boyfriend trembled. "The prison still needs a prisoner. And I'm the guiltiest." A beam of light wrapped around his ankle and he was suddenly pulled to the floor and dragged towards the stone. The others fell too and reached out to Charlie. He reached back desperately. Hands slid against each other, just finding purchase for a second then disappearing. "Please!" Charlie shouted desperate. Loud gunshots stopped the chaos, and the group pulled Charlie into the middle of them so that he was practically sat on their laps.   
  
  
  
Miss Quill crouched in the doorway, her gun pointed up. Jordan stood by her, her gun still pointed at the rock. "Can't even handle detention right." She stood and walked over to the desk. "I'm gone!" Ram screeched grabbing his stuff and running out of the classroom. "Aren't you gonna follow him?" Tanya asked. April glared at her and grabbed her stuff. "No."  
"Why?" Tanya yelled.   
"You'll understand when you get a boyfriend!" Tanya scoffed.  
"And there it is!" Tanya stalked out the room, April following, muttering angrily. Quill chucked a bag at Charlie, but Charlene took no notice, running into the safety of Jordan's arms. As their conversation continued, Charlene quietly sobbed into Jordan's shoulder, overcome again by her grief and guilt. Miss Quill's sudden fall, however, startled them. "No, it can't be!" They turned to look and saw the very prominent bump. "Well..." Jordan started.  
"How the hell are we gonna carry her?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for not writing for ages, I hope you can forgive me. I own none of the characters or the script (I did, however, get left in the care of Greg, Sophie and Vivian for an hour and a half while my mum looked round the con). Also. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREG!!! xxx


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